Sami Jo "It Could Have Been Me" (MGM South, 1974) (LP)
The lone album from this promising '70s singer. Sami Jo Cole was apparently caught up in a bunch of label mergers, and despite moderate success on the charts, her second album wound up getting shelved...

Les Sampou "Sweet Perfume" (1993)

Les Sampou "Fall From Grace" (1996)

Les Sampou "Les Sampou" (1999)

Les Sampou "Borrowed And Blue" (2001)

Les Sampou "Lonesomeville" (Self-Released, 2010)
(Produced by Les Sampou, David Ogden & Andy Plaisted)
A sweet, twangy set with deep blues roots... There are echoes of Delbert McClinton, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt and various other roots-music heroes, amid a strong set of original material. Ms. Sampou might be living in Lonesomeville, but she originally hails from Connecticut... and for a Yankee, she does a nice job getting greasy and gritty... Best on the uptempo numbers, with some nice David Lindley-esque slide guitar. Worth a spin!

Crystal Sands "Crystal Sands" (Ah-Ha, 2008)

Crystal Sands "Hard Times" (2009)

Sarah "Sarah" (Hub Records, 1987) (LP)

Sarah "Sarah Too" (Hub Records, 1988) (LP)

Ann Savoy & Linda Ronstadt "Adieu False Heart" (Vanguard, 2006)
Going by the name of "the Zozo Sisters," country-rock doyenne Linda Ronstadt and cajun chanteuse Ann Savoy resume the partnership that sparkled and shone on the Evangeline Made compilation a few years back. This is a sweet set of uniformly lovely tunes, some more cajun than others, but all featuring gentle acoustic backing and wonderful vocal harmonies. Old-timey picker Dirk Powell lends his talent to the mix, as do a Balfa and Broussard or two, and the cream of the bluegrass studio crew... There's not much variety in the tempo or tone, but if pretty music is what you're looking for, this disc would be hard to beat.

Ann Savoy & Her Sleepless Knights "If Dreams Come True" (Memphis International, 2007)
Having long since secured her place in the firmament of the modern cajun revival, Ann Savoy is steadily shoring up her bona fides as one of the finer, most confident vocalists in the roots music ouvre. On this elegant outing, she sings swing with a lighthearted authority, her command of jazz timing and old-school pop sensibility coming through loud and clear... There's a smattering of French in the song titles, but it comes from the other side of the Atlantic -- from the work of Django Reinhardt and Georges Ulmer -- and the swampy side of her sensibility is largely left behind. Crooning her way through standards by Joe Burke, Benny Goodman, Rogers & Hart, Ray Noble and Dorothy Fields, Savoy makes all that old jazz sound new and fresh, a joyful expression of her own inner muse, and not just another retro-torch run-through. It's quite a lovely record... If you've enjoyed her recent collaborations with Linda Ronstadt, et. al., you should love this album as well!

Martha Scanlan "The West Was Burning" (Sugar Hill, 2007)

Dawn Sears "What A Woman Wants To Hear" (Warner Brothers, 1991)

Dawn Sears "Nothing But Good" (Decca, 1994)

Dawn Sears "Dawn Sears" (2002)

Dawn Sears "A Christmas Dawn" (2008)
An independently-released holiday album, mainly filled with standards... Available through Dawn Sears' website, www.dawnsears.com.

Jeannie Seely - see artist discography

Marilyn Sellars "One Day At A Time" (Mega, 1974) (LP)

Marilyn Sellars "Gather Me" (Mega, 1975) (LP)

Marilyn Sellars "Marilyn" (Zodiac, 1976) (LP)

Marilyn Sellars "Raised On Country Sunshine" (Koala, 1979) (LP)

Marilyn Sellars & The Minnesota Boychoir "Take Me Back To Minnesota" (Twin Track, 1996)

Marilyn Sellars "Marilyn Sellars" (Madacy, 2006)
3-CD set of gospel and patriotic songs...

Jo Serrapere "My Blue Heaven" (One Man Clapping, 1998)
A bluesy, acoustic string-swing set from one of the co-founders of the Uncle Earl bluegrass band... This is more of a Tin Pan Alley-tinged outing, with sweet, reflective vocals, which are well suited to her high, sweet timbre.

Jo Serrapere "Tonight At Johnny's Speakeasy" (2003)
Here Serrapere 's playing with a full band behind her, occasionally with the volume cranked up to, oh, say 7 or 8, so the slide guitar gets a little grungy but not too loud... Nice mix of styles, with a hefty dose of string-swing retro that reminds me a little of old Dan Hicks. She splits the vocals with her bandmates, but you may find yourself more drawn to her songs. Pretty nice!

Sunday Sharpe "I'm Having Your Baby" (United Artists, 1975) (LP)

Crystal Shawanda "Dawn Of A New Day" (RCA, 2008)

Crystal Shawanda "I'll Be Home For Christmas" (2009)

Victoria Shaw "In Full View" (Reprise, 1995)

Victoria Shaw "Victoria Shaw" (Reprise, 1997)

Victoria Shaw "Old Friends, New Memories" (Taffeta, 1999)
(Produced by Jon Vezner)

Victoria Shaw "Bring On The Love" (Taffeta, 2008)

SheDaisy "The Whole Shebang" (Lyric Street, 1999)
A second-string country-pop band that came up during Nashville's pre- and post-Millennial flirtation wth the glitzy production of the "boy band"/Brittney era. These gals were marketed as "country" almost by default, and derided as Dixie Chicks wannabees. Like many of their contemporaries, they dip into soul-style vocals and cluttered, overly-complicated pop arrangements. Nonetheless, the band's bright sound and earnest presentation -- as well as their wholesome image, a product of their Mormon upbringing -- won them a sizeable and devoted fan base. I'm sure there are folks who dig their sound, though for the most part it doesn't do much for me.

SheDaisy "Brand New Year" (Lyric Street, 2000)
A holiday album, with pretty much the same high-gloss production approach as their secular records. For more Christmas music, see my Hillbilly Holiday section.)

SheDaisy "Knock On The Sky" (Lyric Street, 2002)

SheDaisy "Sweet Right Here" (Lyric Street, 2004)
(Produced by Dan Huff & SheDaisy)
I read somewhere about how this disc marked a turn towards a more "country" sound, away from the perky teeniebopper pop of their earlier albums... Dunno so much about the "more country" part of that equation, but this is certainly a more mature-sounding album, with the 'Daisy gals tackling social issues and reflecting on their life in the Nashville biz. Musically, this didn't wow me -- not my cup of tea -- but I was intrigued by the lyrical content. Some of it's the same old prefab profundity that's seeped into mainstream country, but some of it stands out as more personal and heartfelt. In particular, I was intrigued by their willingness to take a playful poke at their own core audience -- Christian evangelicals -- in the song "Love Goes On," wherein they roll their eyes at a nosy, Bible-thumping neighbor: "...Mrs. Jones next door is still extreme/Goes on and on about the Bible/What comes around still goes around..." It's not, like, the heaviest social satire ever, but given the current level of spiritual pushiness in this country, it's refreshing for a band known in part as religious role models to acknowledge a little give and take, and to let us know they don't go for the super-uptight, dogmatic version of Christianity. Fans who have been following this band over the last few years should like this album a lot -- it's very "pop," but it's also a record than feels like we're watching the artists growing up, right before our eyes. More power to' em.

SheDaisy "Fortune Teller's Melody" (Lyric Street, 2002)

SheDaisy "The Best Of SheDaisy" (Lyric Street, 2008)

Jean Shepard - see artist discography

Michelle Shocked "Texas Campfire Takes" (Mighty Sound, 1987/2003)
Well, okay, so maybe she's not exactly an officially sanctioned, bona-fide "alt.country" artist... But then again, why quibble about labels? Shocked was certainly there when the current "Americana" boom was just getting underway, and I've always thought of her as having a strong, positive influence on its growth. This is an interesting set of informal, live performances by this intelligent, unassuming alt-folkie, made at the start of her career, when she was making the rounds of various "women's music" gatherings. Shocked was particularly cool, though, for opting to emulate Woody Guthrie rather than lesbian folk icons such as Tret Fure or Holly Near, who often tended to be a bit dreary and un-fun. These solo acoustic recording aren't completely electrifying, but they are a nice, unpretentious look at her early work. It's especially charming when you hear some truck whiz by on the freeway while she's crooning out a tune... now, that's authenticity!! The new 2-CD edition expands greatly on the original, single-disc set, and has been re-released on Shocked's own Mighty Sound label.

Michelle Shocked "Short Sharp Shocked" (Polygram/Mighty Sound, 1988)

Michelle Shocked "Captain Swing" (Polygram/Mighty Sound, 1989)

Michelle Shocked/Various Artists "Arkansas Traveler" (Mighty Sound, 1991/2004)
An expanded, updated reissue of Shocked's 1991 guest-fest extravaganza. She sure scored as far as the cast of thousands she was able to assemble for this far-reaching project... Roots music luminaries such as The Band, Alison Krauss, Taj Mahal, Doc Watson, Dan Crary and Norman Blake join old-timers like Pops Staples and Jimmy Driftwood (wow... he was still around??), as well as rock bands like The String Cheese Incident, Hothouse Flowers and Uncle Tupelo... Quite a lineup! The album never really catches fire as far as my ears go, though... Dunno exactly why; their hearts all seemed to be in the right place, but there's not a lot of snap, crackle or pop to the songs themselves.

Jenny Simpson "Jenny Simpson" (Mercury-Nashville, 1998)
(Produced by Garth Fundis & Ray Methvin)
This starts out okay, with a couple of prefab, uptempo girl-powerish singalong twang-tunes, notably the single, "Ticket Out Of Kansas," which might even get you nodding your head and tapping your toes to the chorus. You think, aw, this ain't bad at all, and then it all goes downhill from there. Simpson soon sinks into bland, awkward, overreaching pop arrangements, and the country side of the equation falls away before some rather misguided crossover dreams. Oh, well. It started out kind of fun.

Nancy Sinatra & Mel Tillis "Mel & Nancy" (Elektra, 1981) (LP)
Um, yes... it's that Nancy Sinatra, singing duets with lanky honkytonk veteran Mel Tillis... And it's a pretty scary record, even though there were a couple of minor hits on it. She's, well, passable when they keep the material uptempo, in a sort of sub-Loretta Lynn way, but the slower songs are pretty painful. The same is true with Mel, but less so -- he's good, but given to cheesy excess. Plus the upbeat/novelty numbers aren't really strong enough to make up for the schmaltz... The football-themed "Play Me Or Trade Me" is a nice idea, but kind of a clunker, and the ballads are sheer torture. This one you can skip.

Margie Singleton & George Jones "Duets -- Country Style" (Mercury, 1962) (LP)

Margie Singleton "Crying Time" (United Artists, 1965) (LP)
(Produced by Kelso Herston)
The first solo album by 'Sixties also-ran Margie Singleton, a Louisiana gal who was once married to label head/music promoter Shelby Singleton... She's best remembered as a duets singer; her album with George Jones is a little-known gem, while later duets with Faron Young, particularly the lively "Keeping Up With The Joneses" flung her towards the top of the charts. Considering the rural, hillbilly charm of those early recordings, this album is a bit of a letdown. I like her voice, but the soft arrangements and slow tempo holds her back and frames her as a somewhat mannered ballad singer, rarely letting her personality come through. Still, it's worth checking out, particularly as Ms. Singleton, a successful songwriter, composed about half the songs on here.

Margie Singleton "...Sings Country Music With Soul" (Ashley, 1967) (LP)

Margie Singleton & Leon Ashley "A New Brand Of Country" (Ashley, 1969) (LP)

Margie Singleton & Leon Ashley "Ode To Billie Joe" (Pickwick/Hilltop, 1969) (LP)

Margie Singleton "Harper Valley PTA" (Pickwick, 1969) (LP)

Margie Singleton "You Gave Me A Mountain" (Pickwick, 1969) (LP)

Elena Skye & The Demolition String Band "One Dog Town" (North Hollow Records, 1999)
(Produced by Greg Garing, Boo Reiners & John Siket)
Scrappy "Americana" twang from this Hoboken-based band, who were once a bluegrass act, but have clearly leapt into a wider-ranging, indiebilly twang. Skye's voice doesn't floor me, and the production i general is a bit rough and DIY, but their hearts are definitely in the right place. The album's one gem is "It Still Hurts," a novelty number that fits well into the old honky-tonk tradition.

Elena Skye & The Demolition String Band "Like A Prayer" (EP) (North Hollow Records, 1999)
(See also: Demolition String Band.)

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Hick Music Index
Sisters Who Swung: Women In Jazz & Blues

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